Tuesday, December 02, 2014

The front of a V-shaped flock of c100 that flew over my head at 10.30am on Sunday, while I was on Rough-legged Buzzard-watching duty. These are scarce birds locally (despite being really numerous in neighbouring Norfolk), so a passing skein of this size was a little bit special.

Monday, December 01, 2014

This Rough-legged was initially reported on the Great Fen website (after they saw it on 9th November) by a couple of local birders who are infamously tight-lipped about their birds, preferring not to actively engage with other birders. Luckily, someone spotted this and tipped me off on Friday 28th. But it was already three weeks since the sighting with nothing since. So, I wasn't exactly full of confidence when I went to check out the site on saturday 29th. However, within half an hour I had relocated it and the twitch was on with local birders coming over the weekend to watch a special bird and add it to their Peterborough area lists.

This is PBC tick number 241 for me and 182 in 2014. On sunday afternoon it came much closer, but I wasn't there to see it and photograph it... Perhaps next weekend?

Lynch Lake, Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough, is a curiosity. It is easily the smallest of the three interconnected lakes at the park, but is always packed with birds. In the winter, wildfowl love it, especially dabbling ducks. And, though (or possibly because) it is small and its edge constantly walked by doggers and casual members of the public, the birds don't seem to care a hoot. Ducks such as Wigeon and Gadwall which can be painfully shy elsewhere are very approachable on Lynch. Hence, they lend themselves to a bit of photography...